The State of Our Missouri Waters Sac River Watershed The Missouri Department of Natural Resources seeks to improve the availability of water resource information to communities where impact to these water resources is felt most. The information presented in this summary is intended to increase awareness of how activities on land and in water have an influence on water resource quality and quantity. The department greatly values local input and engagement regarding the mission of ensuring safe and ample water resources, and will continue to seek local guidance to further focus department efforts and funding strategies for the betterment of Our Missouri Waters. HUC-8: 10290106 September 2015 Sac River Watershed The State of Our Missouri Waters Key Points In the northern portion of the watershed, low dissolved oxygen levels in water bodies often Importance of cause negative impacts to aquatic life and create challenges for the watershed. These low dis- Water Quantity solved oxygen levels are often a result of excess organic materials, which consume oxygen, and may be discharged from wastewater treatment system types less effective in removing and Quality organics. Other sources of excess organics in water bodies may include excess animal waste, excess nutrient loads (fertilizer) and excess sedimentation from stream bank and erosion. Water shortages can have severe and expensive In the southern portion of the watershed, there are challenges regarding bacteria levels in wa- consequences. Adequate ter bodies, which can cause serious public health and recreational safety issues. Nonpoint water supplies are vital not sources of contamination, such as animal waste and contaminants carried by stormwater run- only to human health and off, can have a serious cumulative impact on surface waters in a largely rural watershed. How- safety, but also to the ever, agricultural best management practices can significantly reduce nonpoint source im- prosperity of our state. pacts. Pollution prevention is also critical due to connectivity of surface water and groundwa- Whether it is for crop irri- ter. Point and nonpoint sources of pollution to water bodies or in and around karst features, gation, industrial manufac- such as sinkholes, can lead to regional contamination of groundwater wells and springs. turing or power genera- tion, water is at the core of Groundwater quantity is also important to consider as groundwater levels in the predominant human existence and sus- aquifer of the area, the Ozark aquifer, are declining in some areas of high use. Water conser- tainability. A few decades vation efforts by groundwater and surface water users can be implemented to help mitigate ago, the supply of water in impacts of increasing water needs in the area. Missouri shares water resources with many oth- Missouri was considered er states, some of which regulate water use and have already established their demand for virtually unlimited. As pop- water. It is important for Missouri to document its need for water and to protect our right to that ulation and industry have water. Registering major water use, annually, establishes a users need for water and helps the increased, a need for department understand the water needs of Missouri citizens. statewide water planning has emerged. Opportunities Water quality impairments Community Involvement can also have severe im- • Through education, advocacy and hands-on projects, communities, groups and individuals pacts on human health can be involved in and promote watershed improvement activities. Some examples include, and the environment and watershed education for schools, litter control, tree planting, water quality monitoring and be extremely expensive. storm drain stenciling. Unfortunately and more Education and Outreach importantly, many water • Technical assistance providers are available for training and assistance regarding several quality impairments are topics such as source water protection, municipal drinking water loss, water main leak detec- only discovered once the tion, asset management, water conservation planning and implementation, and I/I (inflow consequences of poor wa- and infiltration) reduction. ter quality have been real- • Training is also available to livestock operations and landowners regarding the benefits of ized. For this reason, it is alternate watering sources for livestock, improvements to land application practices, best important that locals are management practices and associated cost-share programs. involved in the protection Financial Assistance of their water quality and • Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds are available to build or improve quantity so as to prevent municipal wastewater and drinking water infrastructure and support agricultural and urban irreversible consequences. projects such as improvements to urban runoff, wet weather flow, stormwater and sewer overflow issues, water reuse and conservation and alternative treatment projects. • 319 Nonpoint Source Funds are available to assist organizations with implementation of on -the-ground practices that control, reduce or manage nonpoint source pollution such as ri- parian buffer strips, detention ponds, limitation of animal waste to stream and sinkholes. • Source Water Protection Grants and Well Plugging Grants are available to public water systems to support safe well abandonment procedures and source water protection imple- mentation and planning efforts. • A full list of department funding sources is available at http://dnr.mo.gov/financial.htm 2 Sac River Watershed The State of Our Missouri Waters—Background Geology/Hydrology Carbonate bedrock and associated karst to- pography (including abundant losing streams What is a and sink areas) in the southern half of the ba- sin make pollution prevention measures a pri- Watershed? ority. Within the basin, stream types transition A watershed is an area of from typical clear, gravel bottom streams of land defined by ridges, the Ozark highlands to silt and sand bottomed from which waters flow into prairie type streams more typical of the Osage a particular lake, river or Plains. Relatively low potential for surface to wetland. groundwater contamination exists in the north- Sac River Basin ern reaches of the basin due to the restrictive permeability of bedrock. Characteristics • Drainage area of 1,981 mi 2 Land Use • Includes portions of 10 Few changes in land use have occurred from counties 2001 to 2011. This change comprised less • Part of the Osage River than a 1 percent difference overall, while there system was an increase of 0.1 percent of impervious surface area. As this watershed is largely ru- • Largest population cen- ral, nonpoint source contributors are relevant ters in the watershed to the overall health of the watershed. The City consist of the cities of of Springfield and the surrounding urban areas Springfield, Republic, have a significant influence on stream condi- Bolivar, and Willard tions in the watershed due to their proximity to • Polk and Greene coun- the headwaters of the Sac River. ties have experienced approximately 15 per- Water Resources cent population growth SURFACE WATER from 2006 to 2010 There are 2,633 miles of streams and 74,892 Recreational acres of lake in the watershed. Some of the larger streams are Bear Creek, Cedar Creek, Resources Clear Creek, Horse Creek, Little Sac River, Stockton Lake received Sac River, South Dry Sac River, and Turn- approximately 300,000 back Creek. The Sac and Little Sac Rivers visitors in 2013, while the make up the main arms of Stockton Lake, the Nathaniel Boone Home- largest lake in the watershed. stead State Historic Site received approximately GROUNDWATER 10,000 visitors. These The most widely used and important ground- parks and attractions gen- water supply source in this region is the erate revenue for area Ozark aquifer, part of the Springfield Plateau businesses, support local groundwater province. The aquifer ranges in jobs, and bring in state and thickness from as little as 600-800 feet local tax dollars. (northwest Barton and parts of St. Clair Coun- ty) to 1,600 feet (Stone and Barry Counties). The average thickness is 1,200 feet. SPRINGS There are 303 springs located in the water- shed. Some of the larger springs include: Cave, Clear Creek Park, Cowpatty, Fulbright, Ritter, Hoffmeister, Rathbone, and Sanders. Flow at the springs range from 0.0033 to 7.695 million gallons per day. 3 Sac River Watershed The State of Our Missouri Waters—Current Conditions and Trends Climate and Water Availability Precipitation The adjacent figure shows annual aver- Estimated Annual Major age statewide precipitation in Missouri Water Use by Category from 1895 to 2013. A 5-year trend line (2013) reveals several wet periods have dominat- ed since the early 1980s, and this wet pattern has also been accompanied by an Electrical Livestock (0. %) (0.5%) increasing trend of heavy precipitation Industrial Irrigaon Wildlife events. Severe drought occurred during (0.3%) (2.6%) (2.6%) 2012, but this drought was brief compared Recreaon Commercial (0.2%) to major multi-year droughts that occurred (1.1%) in the 1930’s and 1950’s. Tree ring anal- yses conducted in Missouri and historic observation data show periods of multi- year severe droughts in Missouri’s history, indicating that extended dry periods are likely to occur in the future . Municipal (92.2%) Groundwater & Stream Monitoring There are six groundwater monitoring wells within the watershed as part of the Missouri Observation Well Network.